The Salmonid Restoration Federation (https://www.calsalmon.org/) named Chris Shutes – me – “Restorationist of the Year” on the concluding day of its 2017 annual conference in Davis. It is recognition that I did not expect and that I value very greatly.
The awards banquet was held last Saturday, April 1, 2017. The award was not an April Fools joke. However, I somewhat felt the fool because, although I was at the conference to give a talk about reintroducing salmon to the North Yuba River, none of my colleagues twisted my arm to stick around for dinner to accept an award no one had told me I was about to receive. I left early for a family gathering and missed my own surprise party. April Fool indeed.
At CSPA, we don’t spend much time tooting our own horns. We spend most of our time buried in regulatory work, at meetings, on the phone, or behind computers. So in a break with tradition, I decided to share mention of this award on the web. I also decided to share my thoughts after receiving this award, which I have called “things I would like to have said.”